Leica M5 - the only flaws to the greatest film kamera ever..

[Eric Rose]

Someone could use some human companionship, or at least some therapy.

Haha. Are you volunteering???

 

[Pieter12]

You know, I might consider it if maybe I could use his Hasselblad for a while. On the other hand, he might really lose it then.

 

[gone]

I love my F2, but happen to use my FG more.

I loved my little Nikon FG. Shot it w/ an R 90 Summicron (which physically is a tiny lens for a 90, not much bigger than the 50).

 

[Huss]

I wanted an FG. Not the FG-20...

But the last time I looked, you could get 10 Leica Ms for one FG.

 

[Moose22]

That's a good estimate. I think they're still around $200.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I wanted an FG. Not the FG-20...

But the last time I looked, you could get 10 Leica Ms for one FG.

Is there a FG36 for longer rolls of film?

 

[guangong]

My favorite camera is the one that I am holding at the time. I do have non favorites...cameras that are battery dependent and eat batteries. There are exceptions. I can’t remember when I changed battery in my Hassy 2000FCM or Fuji GF670.
Too bad Leitz didn’t come up with the metering system of the M6 for the M5. The Rube Goldberg meter design of the M5 is mechanically flawed, but everything else is superior to the M6, from viewfinder to material of cameras’ innards.

 

[Pieter12]

My favorite camera is the one that I am holding at the time. I do have non favorites...cameras that are battery dependent and eat batteries. There are exceptions. I can’t remember when I changed battery in my Hassy 2000FCM or Fuji GF670.
Too bad Leitz didn’t come up with the metering system of the M6 for the M5. The Rube Goldberg meter design of the M5 is mechanically flawed, but everything else is superior to the M6, from viewfinder to material of cameras’ innards.

The biggest problem with the M5 is battery compartment corrosion, and replacements are NLA. The metering arm might not be the most ideal design, but except for misuse it is not prone to failure. Plus the fact that although there are many Leica technicians around the world, not all will work on the M5.

 

[madNbad]

Is there a FG36 for longer rolls of film?

It's listed along with the FG-24. Unfortunately, both versions in Kodachrome were discontinued.

 

[guangong]

The biggest problem with the M5 is battery compartment corrosion, and replacements are NLA. The metering arm might not be the most ideal design, but except for misuse it is not prone to failure. Plus the fact that although there are many Leica technicians around the world, not all will work on the M5.

According to my friends who worked at Leitz, and others who work on cameras, the build quality of M5 is far superior to M cameras that followed. An M6 type of metering system rather than an arm would have made the M5 a truly superior camera. While we were visiting a camera store the week M5 was introduced, my wife looked through viewfinder and promptly bought one. Daughter now has camera. Almost 50 yrs of trouble free use. I bought a replacement.
The battery department only corrodes if battery leaks. It doesn’t corrode by itself. Simple solution is not to store camera with batteries in camera. So I would not consider battery corrosion a camera fault.

 

[Huss]

The battery department only corrodes if battery leaks. It doesn’t corrode by itself. Simple solution is not to store camera with batteries in camera. So I would not consider battery corrosion a camera fault.

Exactly. It is not a design issue but a user issue.

 

[Pieter12]

I agree it is not a design issue, but it is the most common problem.

 

[Huss]

I agree it is not a design issue, but it is the most common problem.

If user error is the most common problem, then that reflects as to how good the camera is!

 

[David Reynolds]

My M5 Story------- I purchased my M5 new in 1973. At that time I used the meter to expose both Color and B&W film. However soon after that I purchased and used a Gossen Lunasix 3 hand held light meter as I also started shooting 2 1/4 & 4x5 . Later I moved up to a Luna Pro. I liked the readings that I got with the hand held meter both reflective and incident so I stopped using the meter in my M5. For the next 40 years I continued to shoot with the M5 with the aid of the hand held meter. Thank God that I removed the battery at the time I stopped using the built in meter.. Moving forward to 2023 I have come to the end of my photographic career and have put out feelers concerning the sale of my cameras. The first thing that arises concerning the M5 is that the meter does not work and that the value deceases greatly with an inoperable meter. AS the battery for many cameras has been discontinued for ecological reasons I thought I would have to sell my M5 without an operable light meter. After reading about the replacement batteries available today (it is very confusing as people have different opinions as to which actually work as replacements.) I purchased Wein Cell 1.35 V MRB625 and installed it in the M5. The meter started right up after being dormant for 40 years. This is another testament to the M5 as the greatest camera ever made.

 

[Huss]

My M5 Story------- I purchased my M5 new in 1973. At that time I used the meter to expose both Color and B&W film. However soon after that I purchased and used a Gossen Lunasix 3 hand held light meter as I also started shooting 2 1/4 & 4x5 . Later I moved up to a Luna Pro. I liked the readings that I got with the hand held meter both reflective and incident so I stopped using the meter in my M5. For the next 40 years I continued to shoot with the M5 with the aid of the hand held meter. Thank God that I removed the battery at the time I stopped using the built in meter.. Moving forward to 2023 I have come to the end of my photographic career and have put out feelers concerning the sale of my cameras. The first thing that arises concerning the M5 is that the meter does not work and that the value deceases greatly with an inoperable meter. AS the battery for many cameras has been discontinued for ecological reasons I thought I would have to sell my M5 without an operable light meter. After reading about the replacement batteries available today (it is very confusing as people have different opinions as to which actually work as replacements.) I purchased Wein Cell 1.35 V MRB625 and installed it in the M5. The meter started right up after being dormant for 40 years. This is another testament to the M5 as the greatest camera ever made.

Excellent!